Here come the kids! Some couples opt for an adults-only bridal affair and others welcome the pitter-patter of little feet on their wedding day. Whether your lil one is playing a featured role in a wedding as flower girl or ring bearer, or you're just bringing the whole family to witness a couple's nuptials, here are some tips for keeping your children — and the bride — happy.

agree!!!! where i come from, people hand-address wedding invitations too (doesn't everybody?). if the name isn't on the invite, that person is not invited. it's probably the most obvious rule in the book.

I'm with anonymous 2 on this one: Do NOT assume your kids are invited! I was invited to a "family-friendly" wedding, but my baby wasn't b/c she was too young. And when she was older she was invited to a family-friendly wedding, which we had to leave as she was being too loud. We would have been better off at the first one - she was about 8 months old, and 2 1/2 at the 2nd one.

3 years

Well where I come from, MAKE the assumption that your kids aren't invited if the invitation doesn't read "so and so AND family." Its not considered proper etiquette to write "no kids" so not including them on the invite should be crystal clear.
Practically every friend I know that has planned a wedding has dealt with a guest who either complained about not bringing their kids, or who brought their kids along anyway.

4 years

As for being sure your kids are invited because if their name's not on the invite, they aren't.....well that's not always true! I've been invited to many wedding where the kids names are not listed and they ARE invited. Where I live/come from, it's normally the bride sitting hand addressing the invitations to the wedding, that she's often spent hours making herself. No, we're not hicks from the sticks as we've sometimes been called, but we simply prefer a different style of wedding. One that's much more laid back and a more family friendly atmosphere. When was the last time you had to hand address 200 invitations that had at least 2 names and up to as many as 8 on them? Yes, make sure the kids are invited, but making an assumption either way isn't right either.
And as for changing your babes routine.....WHAT?! Why would I EVER do that? You know your babe better than anyone else and if you want to enjoy the festivities, changing you wee one's routine isn't going to make that any easier! You know their cues as to when they're hungry or sleepy or are going to have a melt down, so don't ignore them, respond to them and fix it BEFORE it becomes a spectacle. There's nothing wrong with having to slip away to feed, or get a littleone down for a nap or discipline them so long as it's not during the ceremony. You can make the choice to sit in an area that gives you the opportunity to slip out quickly and quietly to disturb very few and still enjoy the special moments. It's always good to arrange a babysitter ahead of time that can stay with your little one(s) either on or off site when the day gets too long for them.